Fries with that? DNA spray to hit thieves

Date: January 11 2013

Ilya Gridneff

McDONALD'S is rolling out a state-of-the art security system across Australia that douses fleeing robbers with an invisible, synthetic DNA spray.

The move is an attempt to stop criminals seeing the fast food chain as a soft target and as police increase patrols of McDonald's restaurants after a series of robberies across Sydney during the Christmas and New Year period.

A McDonald's spokeswoman said the company will increase the use of SelectaDNA in stores all over the country after a successful trial in their six busiest Sydney restaurants was launched in January last year.

According to the SelectaDNA website, spray heads are fitted at the entry points of premises which, on activation, emit a burst of solution onto the offenders.

The solution contains a UV tracer which is invisible to the naked eye but will show up under UV light.

It also has a unique DNA code, linking the thieves to the specific crime scene in question.

''It's a great deterrent,'' the McDonald's spokeswoman said. ''During the trial the restaurants experienced zero robberies and reduced instances of anti-social behaviour.

''We have a wide array of security measures in place to ensure that our team members are kept safe at all times, such as intensive training, strict cash handling protocols, CCTV and consultative working relationships with local police.''

Police do not believe three recent McDonald's robberies are linked, but they will regularly patrol stores and all outlets they deemed to be especially at risk.

Two McDonald's outlets in south-west Sydney, Narellan and Liverpool, were hit on December 28 and January 2, while on December 29 the Caringbah restaurant in Sydney's south was robbed.

Two men wearing balaclavas entered the Narellan store through a rear door armed with firearms and a knife before threatening staff and fleeing with cash, police said.

Once inside the Liverpool premises, three men, who had their faces covered, walked behind the counter and threatened the manager, police said. In Caringbah, a man threatened staff with a knife before demanding cash, police said.